Electronic device and its wireless network connection method

ABSTRACT

A wireless network connection method for an electronic device is provided, in which a first signal is transmitted to additional electronic device and is utilized to identify the electronic device. When the additional electronic device identifies the electronic device through the first signal, it establishes wireless communication between the electronic device and the additional electronic device. A second signal is transmitted to the additional electronic device. The second signal is an audio signal to instruct the additional electronic device to maintain the wireless communication.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority of Taiwan Patent Application No.103114629 filed on Apr. 23, 2014, the entirety of which is incorporatedby reference herein.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The invention relates to communications technology, especially to awireless network connection method and its electronic device.

2. Description of the Related Art

Utilizing cables for connecting two electronic devices is a commonmethod of establishing a communication link. However, compared tocommunication through a wired connection, wireless communication is moreconvenient. Existing technologies of wireless communication includefar-distance technologies such as Wi-Fi, General Packet Radio Service(GPRS), and Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), as well asnear-distance technologies such as Wi-Fi Direct, Bluetooth and NFC.

Specific hardware is required to support the wireless communicationtechnologies listed above, however. When the user wants to transmit orshare data, he needs to input the settings for each different electronicdevice—a process that takes time and can be inconvenient. Therefore, ahigh-efficiency wireless communication method is needed for theelectronic device to automatically detect the connection status andfurther initiate or stop a network connection service so that the usercan more easily transmit and share data.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a wireless network connection method foran electronic device. The wireless network connection method includestransmitting a first signal to an additional electronic device, and thefirst signal is utilized to identify the electronic device; when theadditional electronic device identifies the electronic device throughthe first signal, developing wireless communication between theelectronic device and the additional electronic device; and transmittinga second signal to the additional electronic device, and the secondsignal is an audio signal for instructing the additional electronicdevice to maintain the wireless communication.

The present invention provides a wireless network connection method foran electronic device. The wireless network connection method includesreceiving a first signal from an additional electronic device, and thefirst signal is utilized to identify the additional electronic device;when the additional electronic device is identified through the firstsignal, developing a wireless communication between the electronicdevice and the additional electronic device; and receiving a secondsignal transmitted by the additional electronic device. The secondsignal is an audio signal for instructing the electronic device tomaintain the wireless communication.

The present invention provides an electronic device for wireless networkconnection. The electronic device includes a display unit, a signaltransceiving unit, a connection unit and an audio transmitting unit. Thesignal transceiving unit is utilized to transmit a first signal to anadditional electronic device. The first signal is utilized to identifythe electronic device. The connection unit is utilized to develop awireless communication between the electronic device and the additionalelectronic device when the additional electronic device identifies theelectronic device through the first signal. The audio transmitting unitis utilized to transmit a second signal to the additional electronicdevice. The second signal is an audio signal for instructing theadditional electronic device to maintain the wireless communication.

The present invention provides an electronic device for wireless networkconnection. The electronic device includes a display unit, a signaltransceiving unit, a control unit, a connection unit and an audioreceiving unit. The signal transceiving unit is utilized to receive afirst signal from an additional electronic device, and the first signalis utilized to identify the additional electronic device. The controlunit is utilized to identify the additional electronic device throughthe first signal. The connection unit is utilized to develop wirelesscommunication between the electronic device and the additionalelectronic device when the control unit identifies the additionalelectronic device. The audio receiving unit is utilized to receive asecond signal transmitted by the additional electronic device, thesecond signal is an audio signal for instructing the electronic deviceto maintain the wireless communication, and the connection unitmaintains the wireless communication when the audio receiving unitreceives the second signal.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The invention can be more fully understood by reading the subsequentdetailed description and examples with references made to theaccompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an electronic device and anexternal electronic device according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a synchronizing operationbetween the electronic device and the external electronic deviceaccording to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 3A is a schematic diagram illustrating a wireless networkconnection method of the electronic device according to an embodiment ofthe invention;

FIG. 3B is additional schematic diagram illustrating a wireless networkconnection method of the electronic device according to an embodiment ofthe invention;

FIG. 4A and FIG. 4B are additional schematic diagram illustrating awireless network connection method according to an embodiment of theinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In order to illustrate the purposes, features and advantages of theinvention, the embodiments and figures of the invention are shown indetail as follows. This description is made for the purpose ofillustrating the general principles of the invention and should not betaken in a limiting sense. It should be understood that the embodimentsmay be realized in software, hardware, firmware, or any combinationthereof.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an electronic device 100 andan electronic device 200 of the present invention. Each of theelectronic devices 100, 100A and 100B includes a control unit 110, adisplay unit 120, a signal transceiving unit 140, a connection unit 160and an audio transmitting unit 180, respectively. The electronic device200 includes a control unit 210, a display unit 220, a signaltransceiving unit 240, a connection unit 260 and an audio receiving unit290. The electronic devices 100 and 200 could be devices which providewireless network service and network connection such as a networkserver, a cell phone, a desktop computer, a laptop computer or a tabletcomputer, and are not limited thereto. In one embodiment, the electronicdevice 100 is a smart phone, and the electronic device 200 is a laptopcomputer or a tablet computer. In the embodiments of the presentinvention, each unit could be composed of hardware components includinga chip, a controller, a storage device and/or other necessary circuits.

For example, the control units 110 and 210 include a digital signalprocessor (DSP), a microcontroller (MCU), a central-processing unit(CPU) or a plurality of parallel processors relating the parallelprocessing environment to implement the operating system (OS), firmware,driver and/or other applications of the electronic device. The displayunits 120 and 220 could be touch display panels such as resistive touchpanels, capacitive touch panels, optical touch panels or electromagnetictouch panels. The signal transceiving units 140 and 240 includeinput/output ports (such as USB ports) and/or cables. In addition, theaudio transmitting unit 180 is a speaker for transmitting sound. Theaudio receiving unit 290 could be a device such as a microphone forreceiving sound. The connection units 160 and 260 could be wirelesscommunication chips or their relating entities to develop wirelesscommunication based on a communication protocol according to the presentinvention. For example, the protocol of wireless communication couldconstitute GSM, GPRS, EDGE, UMTS, W-CDMA, CDMA2000, TD-CDMA, Bluetooth,NFC, WiFi, WiMAX, LTE, LTE-A or TD-LTE.

In one embodiment, the signal transceiving unit 140 of the electronicdevice 100 transmits an identification signal (the first signal) to theelectronic device 200 such that the electronic device 200 could identifythe electronic device 100. For example, when the cable connects to theinput/output ports of the electronic devices 100 and 200, the electronicdevice 100 transmits the identification signal to the electronic device200 through the cable (the signal transceiving unit 140). In additionalembodiment, the electronic device 100 transmits the identificationsignal through the connection unit 160, and the electronic device 200also receives the identification signal through the connection unit 260.In additional embodiment, the electronic device 100 transmits theidentification signal through the audio transmitting unit 180, and theelectronic device 200 also receives the identification signal throughthe audio receiving unit 290.

When the electronic device 200 receives the identification signaltransmitted by the electronic device 100, the control unit 210 of theelectronic device 200 analyzes the identification signal to identify theelectronic device 100. When the electronic device 200 identifies orsuccessfully confirms the electronic device 100 through theidentification signal, the electronic device 200 transmits anidentification confirming signal to the electronic device 100 throughthe signal transceiving unit 240 or the connection unit 260. Afterwards,after the electronic device 100 receives the identification confirmingsignal, the connection unit 160 of the electronic device 100 tries todevelop the wireless communication between the electronic devices 100and 200. In additional embodiment, when the electronic device 200successfully confirms the electronic device 100, the connection unit 260of the electronic device 200 tries to develop the wireless communicationbetween the electronic devices 100 and 200. In other words, the wirelesscommunication between the electronic devices 100 and 200 could beinitiated by the electronic device 100 or the electronic device 200 anddeveloped after the confirmation response of the electronic device 100or the electronic device 200.

After developing the wireless communication between the electronicdevices 100 and 200, the audio transmitting unit 180 of the electronicdevice 100 transmits a connecting audio signal (the second signal) tothe electronic device 200. In one embodiment, the identification signalis the same as the connecting audio signal. It should be noted that theconnecting audio signal is an audio signal for instructing theelectronic device 200 to maintain the wireless communication between theelectronic devices 100 and 200. In one embodiment, the frequency of theconnecting audio signal is greater than about 18000 Hz. For example, thefrequency range of the connecting audio signal is 18000 Hz to 20000 Hz.Ordinary speakers are capable of transmitting sound in the abovefrequency range, but it cannot be heard by most users. Therefore, whenthe audio transmitting unit 180 transmits the connecting audio signal ofthe frequency range, the information could be transmitted efficiently,and the electronic device 200 could be instructed to maintain thewireless communication between the electronic devices 100 and 200without bothering the users.

Specifically, the second signal transmitted by the audio transmittingunit 180 includes at least one package. The content of the packageincludes an initiating audio, transmission type, address of thetransmitting terminal (MAC address), address of the receiving terminal,package status, data and the ending audio. The above transmittingterminal and receiving terminal could be the electronic device 100 or200. For example, the above transmission type includes three applicationmodes such as broadcasting the MAC address to all receiving terminals,broadcasting the MAC address to all receiving terminals and receivingacknowledge information, and transmitting the MAC address to specificreceiving terminals and receiving acknowledge information. The packagestatus is utilized to indicate that the package is a sub-package ofadditional large package and indicate the sequence of the sub-packagewithin the large package. In additional embodiment, the audiotransmitting unit 180 transmits the connecting audio signal to theelectronic device 200, and the wireless communication between theelectronic devices 100 and 200 is developed according to the informationof addresses of the transmitting and receiving terminals included by theconnecting audio signal.

In one embodiment, the electronic device 200 includes an identificationdata table to record the identification data (ID) of the at least oneelectronic device 100, 100A and/or 100B.

TABLE 1 Identification Connecting Signal Audio Signal Electronic Device100 00 F₀ Electronic Device 100A 01 F_(A) Electronic Device 100B 10F_(B)

As shown in Table 1, the electronic devices 100, 100A and 100B each havetheir own respective identification signal and connecting audio signal.For example, in the ID table, the value of the identification signal ofthe electronic device 100 is 00, and the frequency of the connectingaudio signal is F0. The value of the identification signal of theelectronic device 100A is 01, and the frequency of the connecting audiosignal is FA. When the electronic device 200 receives the identificationsignal transmitted by the electronic device 100, it will check whetherthe value 00 if the identification signal belongs to the ID table ornot. If the identification signal belongs to the ID table, it means thatthe electronic device 100 has connected to the electronic device 200before. If the identification signal does not belong to the ID table, itmeans that the electronic device 100 has never before connected to theelectronic device 200, and the electronic device 200 records the value00 of the identification signal on the ID table. For example, when theelectronic device 200 receives additional identification signal, thevalue of the identification signal can be matched and analyzed. If thevalue is 00, the electronic device 100 can be identified. If the valueis 01, it means that the electronic device 100A connects to theelectronic device 200. Because each electronic device 100, 100A and 100Bhas its own identification value, the judging error could be avoidedaccordingly.

In addition, electronic devices 100, 100A and 100B have connecting audiosignals of frequencies F0, FA and FB, respectively. For example, whenthe electronic device 100 is close to the electronic device 200, isgenerates a connecting audio signal at frequency F0 to develop and/ormaintain the wireless communication between the electronic devices 100and 200. When the electronic device 200 receives the connecting audiosignal of the frequency F0, it will develop and/or maintain the wirelesscommunication between the electronic devices 100 and 200, and will notdevelop and/or maintain the wireless communication between theelectronic devices 200 and electronic devices other than the electronicdevice 100. When the electronic device 100 is away from the electronicdevice 200, the electronic device 200 cannot receive the connectingaudio signal of frequency F0, and it will terminate the communicationbetween the electronic devices 100 and 200. By utilizing the connectingaudio signals with different frequencies of the above electronicdevices, the distance between the electronic devices can beautomatically detected by whether at least two electronic devicesreceive the connecting audio signal or not. The network connectionservice could be initiated further or terminated accordingly such thatthe users can transmit or share data more easily.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a synchronizing operationbetween the electronic devices 100 and 200 according to an embodiment ofthe invention. In one embodiment, after the wireless communicationbetween the electronic devices 100 and 200 is developed, the electronicdevice 100 displays a screen image 130 of the display unit 120 on theelectronic device 200. In other words, as shown in FIG. 2, the displayunit 220 of the electronic device 200 synchronously displays the screenimage 130 of the electronic device 100. It should be noted that thescreen image 130 is utilized to execute the synchronizing operationsbetween the electronic devices 100 and 200.

For example, when a file displayed by the display unit 220 of theelectronic device 200 is pulled to the screen image 130 of the displayunit 220, the electronic device 200 transmits the file to the electronicdevice 100. Therefore, the users can transmit data between theelectronic devices 100 and 200 more easily. In additional embodiment,the users want to open or edit files stored in the electronic device 100by the electronic device 200, such as texts in the format of SMS, MMA orHTML, or word files in the format of DOC, TXT, PPT, XLS or PDF, or thevideo files in the format of AVI, MPEG4, mov, Xvid, 3GP or 3G2. At thesame time, when the file on the screen image 130 displayed by thedisplay unit 120 is touched or knocked, then electronic device 200initiates its application program or software to open, edit or play thefile. Therefore, the users can utilize the electronic device 200 toopen, edit or play the file which is stored in the electronic device100.

FIG. 3A is a schematic diagram illustrating a wireless networkconnection method of the electronic device 100 according to anembodiment of the invention. In step S302, the electronic device 100transmits a first signal to additional electronic device (such as theelectronic device 200), and the first signal is for identifying theelectronic device 100. Afterwards, in step S304, when the electronicdevice 200 identifies the electronic device 100 through the firstsignal, the wireless communication between the electronic devices 100and 200 is developed. Afterwards, in step S306, the electronic device100 transmits the screen image 130 to the electronic device 200 so thatthe electronic device 200 can display the screen image 130, and thesynchronizing operation is executed between the electronic devices 100and 200 by the screen image. In one embodiment, the electronic device200 transmits a control command to the electronic device 100, and theelectronic device 100 transmits the screen image 130 to the electronicdevice 200 which is generated according to the control command. Inadditional embodiment, the screen image 130 can be displayedun-synchronously. Afterwards, in step S308, the electronic device 100transmits a second signal to the electronic device 200, and the secondsignal is an audio signal for instructing the electronic device 200 tomaintain the wireless communication.

FIG. 3B is additional schematic diagram illustrating a wireless networkconnection method of the electronic device 200 according to anembodiment of the invention. In step S322, the electronic device 200receives a first signal transmitted by additional electronic device(such as the electronic device 100), and the first signal is foridentifying the electronic device 100. Afterwards, in step S324, whenthe electronic device 200 identifies the electronic device 100 throughthe first signal, the wireless communication between the electronicdevices 100 and 200 is developed by the electronic device 200.Afterwards, in step S326, the display unit 220 of the electronic device200 displays the screen image 130 of the electronic device 100, and thesynchronizing operation is executed between the electronic devices 100and 200 by the screen image 130. Afterwards, in step S328, theelectronic device 200 receives a second signal transmitted by theelectronic device 100, the second signal is an audio signal forinstructing the electronic device 200 to maintain the wirelesscommunication, and the electronic device 200 maintains the wirelesscommunication.

FIG. 4A and FIG. 4B are other schematic diagrams illustrating a wirelessnetwork connection method according to an embodiment of the invention.In step S402, the signal transceiving unit 140 of the electronic device100 determines whether or not additional electronic device (such as theelectronic device 200) is connected. If the electronic device 100 doesnot connect the electronic device 200, step S402 is executed again. Ifthe electronic device 100 connects the electronic device 200, step S404is executed. In step S404, the electronic device 100 transmits theidentification signal to the electronic device 200 to identify theelectronic device 100. Afterwards, in step S406, the electronic device200 determines whether the electronic device 100 has developed aconnection with the electronic device 200 or not. If the electronicdevice 200 determines that the electronic device 100 has ever developeda connection with the electronic device 200, step S410 is executed. Ifthe electronic device 200 determines that the electronic device 100 hasnot developed a connection with the electronic device 200 before, stepS408 is executed. In step S408, the electronic device 200 stores theidentification signal of the electronic device 100. Afterwards, in stepS410, the electronic device 200 initiates an application software toexecute the synchronizing operation between the electronic devices 100and 200.

Afterwards, in step S412, the electronic device 200 determines whetheror not it successfully confirms the electronic device 100 through theidentification signal. If the electronic device 200 does notsuccessfully confirm the electronic device 100 through theidentification signal, step S424 is executed for finishing the wirelessnetwork connection method. If the electronic device 200 successfullyconfirms the electronic device 100 through the identification signal,step S414 is executed so that the wireless communication between theelectronic devices 100 and 200 is developed by the electronic device 100and/or the electronic device 200. Afterwards, in step S416, theelectronic device 100 transmits a connecting audio signal which is anaudio signal to the electronic device 200 for instructing the electronicdevice 200 to maintain the wireless communication. In step S418, theelectronic device 200 determines whether it receives the connectionaudio signal or not. If the electronic device 200 receives theconnection audio signal, step S420 is executed. If the electronic device200 does not receive the connection audio signal, step S422 is executed.In step S420, the electronic device 200 maintains the wirelesscommunication and executes the synchronizing operation between theelectronic devices 100 and 200. Afterwards, step S416 is executed sothat the electronic device 100 transmits the audio signal to theelectronic device 200. In step S422, the electronic device 200terminates the wireless communication and terminates the synchronizingoperation between the electronic devices 100 and 200. Afterwards, stepS424 is executed for finishing the wireless network connection method.The detailed steps of the content of the connecting audio signal andexecuting synchronizing operations have been illustrated before and willnot be repeated.

The present invention provides a wireless network connection method fora plurality of electronic devices to transmit and receive audio signalsby transmitting sound within the frequencies of 18000 Hz to 20000 Hz.The electronic devices could determine the distances between them by theaudio signals and further initiate or terminate network connectionservices. The users can transmit data more easily or executesynchronizing operations among different electronic devices. Therefore,the wireless network connection method of the present invention solvesthe trouble of initiating or terminating network connection service bythe users so that the users can develop wireless communication and sharedata more easily.

Use of ordinal terms such as “first”, “second”, “third”, etc., in theclaims to modify a claim element does not by itself connote anypriority, precedence, or order of one claim element over additional orthe temporal order in which acts of a method are performed, but are usedmerely as labels to distinguish one claim element having a certain namefrom additional element having the same name (but for use of the ordinalterm) to distinguish the claim elements. While the invention has beendescribed by way of example and in terms of the preferred embodiments,it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to thedisclosed embodiments. On the contrary, it is intended to cover variousmodifications and similar arrangements (as would be apparent to thoseskilled in the art). Therefore, the scope of the appended claims shouldbe accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all suchmodifications and similar arrangements.

What is claimed is:
 1. A wireless network connection method for anelectronic device, comprising: transmitting a first signal to anadditional electronic device, wherein the first signal is utilized toidentify the electronic device; when the additional electronic deviceidentifies the electronic device through the first signal, developing awireless communication between the electronic device and the additionalelectronic device; and transmitting a second signal to the additionalelectronic device, wherein the second signal is an audio signal forinstructing the additional electronic device to maintain the wirelesscommunication.
 2. The wireless network connection method as claimed inclaim 1, wherein a frequency of the second signal is greater than 18000Hz.
 3. The wireless network connection method as claimed in claim 1,further comprising after the step of developing the wirelesscommunication between the electronic device and the additionalelectronic device, displaying a screen image of the electronic device onthe additional electronic device.
 4. The wireless network connectionmethod as claimed in claim 3, further comprising executing synchronizingoperations between the electronic device and the additional electronicdevice through the screen image.
 5. A wireless network connection methodfor an electronic device, comprising: receiving a first signal from anadditional electronic device, wherein the first signal is utilized toidentify the additional electronic device; when the additionalelectronic device is identified through the first signal, developing awireless communication between the electronic device and the additionalelectronic device; and receiving a second signal transmitted by theadditional electronic device, wherein the second signal is an audiosignal for instructing the electronic device to maintain the wirelesscommunication.
 6. The wireless network connection method as claimed inclaim 5, wherein a frequency of the second signal is greater than 18000Hz.
 7. The wireless network connection method as claimed in claim 5,further comprising after the step of developing the wirelesscommunication between the electronic device and the additionalelectronic device, displaying a screen image of the additionalelectronic device through a display unit of the electronic device. 8.The wireless network connection method as claimed in claim 7, furthercomprising executing synchronizing operations between the electronicdevice and the additional electronic device through the screen image. 9.The wireless network connection method as claimed in claim 5, furthercomprising when the electronic device does not receive the secondsignal, terminating the wireless communication between the electronicdevice and the additional electronic device.
 10. An electronic devicefor wireless network connection, comprising: a display unit; a signaltransceiving unit, utilized to transmit a first signal to an additionalelectronic device, wherein the first signal is utilized to identify theelectronic device; a connection unit, utilized to develop a wirelesscommunication between the electronic device and the additionalelectronic device when the additional electronic device identifies theelectronic device through the first signal; and an audio transmittingunit, utilized to transmit a second signal to the additional electronicdevice, wherein the second signal is an audio signal for instructing theadditional electronic device to maintain the wireless communication. 11.The electronic device as claimed in claim 10, wherein after theelectronic device develops the wireless communication between theelectronic device and the additional electronic device, it displays ascreen image played by the display unit on the additional electronicdevice.
 12. The electronic device as claimed in claim 11, wherein theelectronic device executes synchronizing operations between theelectronic device and the additional electronic device through thescreen image.
 13. An electronic device for wireless network connection,comprising: a display unit; a signal transceiving unit, utilized toreceive a first signal from an additional electronic device, wherein thefirst signal is utilized to identify the additional electronic device; acontrol unit, utilized to identify the additional electronic devicethrough the first signal; a connection unit, utilized to develop awireless communication between the electronic device and the additionalelectronic device when the control unit identifies the additionalelectronic device; and an audio receiving unit, utilized to receive asecond signal transmitted by the additional electronic device, whereinthe second signal is an audio signal for instructing the electronicdevice to maintain the wireless communication, and the connection unitmaintains the wireless communication when the audio receiving unitreceives the second signal.